India Car Sales Set to Fall This Fiscal Year
"India's car sales in this fiscal year are set to fall for the first time in a decade as a sharp economic slowdown, high loan rates and rising fuel prices take a toll on what was one of the most-promising markets for automobiles worldwide."

"India's industrial production unexpectedly shrank for a second straight month in December, weighed down by weak investment and consumer demand, casting doubt on Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's view that Asia's-third largest economy is showing signs of recovery."

Asia's city-states face future of slower growth
"Singapore and Hong Kong are being forced to come to terms with slowing growth. For decades, the city-states have been among Asia's economic hot spots. But continued expansion will be restrained by popular discontent about crowding and rising property costs. A more pedestrian future awaits."

Dubai will push on with grand plans - ruler
"Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, said the emirate will 'carry on' launching new mega projects and that taking risks is necessary to reach its 'ultimate goal'."

"The shift in Syria has actually enabled Iran to cross over the Sunni-Shi'ite barriers that were tenaciously put up to isolate it. Thus, President Mahmud Ahmedinejad's historic visit to Egypt this week has a much bigger regional dimension to it than the restoration of the Iran-Egypt bilateral relationship. The trilateral meeting held between Ahmedinejad and his Egyptian and Turkish counterparts Mohammed Morsi and Abdullah Gul signified Iran's compelling relevance as an interlocutor rather than as an implacable adversary for the two major Sunni countries."

Japan plans to donate patrol boats to Manila
"Japan plans to donate patrol boats costing $11 million each to the Philippines, ramping up regional efforts to monitor China's maritime activity in disputed waters, according to a newspaper."

"It's obvious from the above price charts that it makes no economic sense to add gallons of ethane or propane to gallons of crude oil to try to summarize global oil supply. But growth of natural gas liquids has been a key factor in the reported increases in 'world oil supply' over the last few years and is also a key component of recent optimistic assessments of future oil production by Leonardo Maugeri and the IEA."

## Infrastructure scavenging ##Scavengers Stripping Greece of Metals
"Greeks and foreigners desperate for money are dismantling bridges, highways and rail transit systems that required billions of euros in European Union subsidies to build, tearing off metal for scrap to sell, much if it going to China and India."

These are the usual predictions. But for many people in the world, "fashion" has been whatever they could find to wrap on their bodies. And in another five years, that number will grow exponentially. -- RF

## Intelligence/propaganda/security/internet/cyberwar ##Software that tracks people on social media created by defence firm
"A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an 'extreme-scale analytics' system created by Raytheon, the world's fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare."

Patrol ships stop operations due to soaring fuel prices
"Indonesia's inability to curb to illegal fishing should come as no surprise, with water patrol units finding it increasingly difficult to operate due to skyrocketing fuel costs… Most patrol ships in Indonesia - including those in Yogyakarta - have stopped operating as Polair offices across the country are no longer able to bear fuel costs for their patrol operations."